Washington, DC, July 4 — This Fourth of July, as fireworks compete with the verbal ballistics of political ads, it is time again to think about what our country stands for, the legacy left to us by our forefathers, and the legacy we will leave future generations.

As a contribution to those reflections, the Citizens Network for Sustainable Development (CitNet) officially launches on this day its Leadership for Sustainability campaign. The aim of the campaign is to focus attention on the important role of sustainability to the country's future — and to convince the nation's leaders and citizens to make sustainability a high priority. For the election, the goal is to make America's sustainability a priority for candidates and voters.

This year, thinking about what "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" means in the 21st century, some people are wondering how much liberty we can have when we are so dependent on Middle Eastern oil. Although just a summer movie, the Day After Tomorrow supplies chilling images to our musings about the possible catastrophic consequences of climate change resulting from our fossil fuel economy. In turn, each new Code Orange alert, body search at airports and restriction of citizen rights adds to this questioning about where the country is headed in our pursuit of happiness.

So, where is the country headed? As the nationwide debate about who should be president kicks into higher gear, many citizens complain that their candidate's vision for the future is too short-sighted. These citizens want to know their candidate's ideas and commitment to a long-range sustainability strategy for the United States.

Most industrial countries and several developing countries already have or are in the process of establishing national sustainable development strategies, which aim to bridge the divisions between economic, social and environmental priorities and policies. In the United States, however, sustainability is still not getting the attention it needs.

The Leadership for Sustainability campaign wants to change that. The campaign calls on citizens, public leaders, and candidates for office to do their part to: (1) raise awareness about what is needed to make America sustainable; (2) build support for the many sustainability initiatives and campaigns taking place around the country, and (3) advocate for a US sustainability strategy, with an Office of Sustainable Development with inter-agency authority to implement it.